Hours after the release of state revenue figures for August, Gov. Mike Beebe addressed a crowd gathered in Arkansas Tech’s Chambers Cafeteria.

Beebe, the keynote speaker at the Russellville Area Chamber of Commerce’s First Friday Luncheon, noted the state’s August revenue report contained mixed news. On one hand, he said, state income tax withholding revenues were up slightly, “which means people are working, and they’re making the kind of wages that allow withholding to be withheld.” The bad news, however, is sales tax collections were $6.9 million below forecast, Beebe said, adding if the trend of declining revenues continues, “it will require some adjustments in the flow of money.”

He noted that Arkansas has remained on sound financial footing — a feat he credited at least in part to the state’s Revenue Stabilization Act — during the economic downturn.

“It’s a combination of all of our people working together for continued economic development and really a good system that allows us to be fiscally conservative and very conscious of our flow of money, that stood Arkansas in good stead ... ” Beebe said.

Nevertheless, the state is not isolated from the happenings outside its borders.

“We are not immune, ladies and gentlemen, from what happens nationally and certainly what happens globally,” he said.

Across the state and nation, the governor said people are uncertain about the future, which leads to fear of spending money, both for individuals and businesses alike.

“They are afraid of what’s gonna happen tomorrow,” he said. “And part of the reason they’re afraid of what’s gonna happen tomorrow is they’re not sure the federal government can solve our problems or know how to work together to resolve any issue.”

Solutions, Beebe said, need to be provided by lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to alleviate the fears of the people and help the economy recover.

“You elect people to work together to solve the problem,” he said. “And you may not agree on every issue and you may not get your way on every issue. And while I’m not suggesting that you prostitute your principles, I am suggesting that you act like adults and that you try to resolve our nation’s problems, because when you don’t you end up throwing the markets, you end up throwing the credit rating agencies and our households and our businesses into such a frenzy about — uncertainty about — tomorrow that they’re scared, and that’s no way to get this thing jump started and get this economy going again.

“If the people in Washington, D.C., would take a lesson from the people in Arkansas, we could solve a lot of these problems a lot earlier.”

Beebe said people will continue to hold on to money until politicians on the national level start making real progress, and he said it is “not only the right, but the obligation” of voters to hold Congress and the White House accountable for solving the nation’s problems.

“We’re gonna take care of Arkansas,” he said. “...To the extent that we have any say about it, we’ll take care of us. What we got to make sure of is that they do their business up there and that the other states don’t drag us back into the same kind of problems that they have seen, but it isn’t the state doing it by itself. It’s every community; it’s every chamber of commerce; it’s every mayor, and county judge, and sheriff, and quorum court and city council. It’s everybody working together to ensure they do the best they can to ensure the quality of life for themselves and for their posterity. Its the opportunity for all of us to reach out and grab our share of the American dream. We are in this together. We will sink or we will swim together. We will prosper or we will fail together.”

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No national office for Beebe

Although his focus on national issues has created some speculation Gov. Mike Beebe may be eyeing a national office, he said Friday those rumors were unfounded.

While speaking at the Russellville Area Chamber of Commerce’s First Friday Luncheon, Beebe told attendees not to mistake his concern for the state of the nation as indication of intent to run for office.